Transcendental Revelry
by Asa Turney
Summary: Two girls explore the boundary of youth and adulthood, also known as college life. With the help of a special drink, is it within human ability to be in two places at the same time?
1. 01: Walking the Streets of a Former Hell

**#01: Walking the Streets of a Former Hell**

* * *

On a Friday evening in late autumn, the bar on the university campus was full of would-be revelers. Still the rowdy atmosphere often associated with bars had yet to set in, replaced by a lazy sort of anticipation.

Two particular maidens occupied a two-seat booth in the eastern corner.

– "I'm telling you Merry, that was hell."

– "Ah, poor Renko."

The girl in black flopped face-first onto the table, sending her loose hat tumbling to the floor. After a long and unproductive day of laboratory research, even such an energetic character could be thrown into melancholy. Fortunately for her, her partner was prepared with news that was sure to lift her spirits.

– "To be honest, a drink or two sounds great right now."

– "In that case, the dream I had yesterday must have been fate… There's a reason I asked to meet you here instead of the usual café."

In this era where the smiles of children had become scarce, there remained at least one tradition known to foster smiles in adults. The sole two members of the paranormal club, Renko Usami and Maribel Hearn (Merry) rarely participated in these sorts of activities– but this was a result of preoccupation rather than any personal distaste. At times, these pursuits were not necessarily at odds.

– "You see, Renko… Last night in my dream, I met an oni."

Renko's countenance piqued ever so slightly, and she lifted her head from the table.

– "An oni? Sounds interesting. What happened?"

– "Hmph. Haven't you said that telling people about your dreams is just a bother?"

– "I was joking, of course. Jeez, Merry, don't you know me at all?"

– "Well, you're not wrong to be interested. The number of oni has decreased to almost nothing these days, so it was a very rare meeting. She was smaller than you'd expect, with long horns and fiery red hair…"

– "Don't hold out on me, Merry. You met an oni! Everyone knows an oni's two favorite things are fighting and drinking."

– "That's right, Renko. You know your stuff."

– "And since you don't look too beaten up… Tell me, how did that famous oni brew taste?"

– "Hmhm. Maybe you can tell for yourself."

From a deep pocket of her violet dress, Merry extracted what appeared to be a small liquor flask. Her companion's tired eyes widened further, beholding the item with fascination.

– "You were actually able to bring some back? I can't believe it…"

– "You can't?"

– "No, I can. You've put me in a position to believe a lot of things, but I still can't help being impressed."

– "Then, what do you say? Do you want a taste?"

After hardly an instant of thought, Renko expressed her answer with a wide grin.

– "All right, but I insist that you take the first sip."

– "That sounds like you think it's poison."

– "Oh, good point. Is it?"

– "Please. I'm as honest as an oni."

In one fluid motion, Merry threw back her head and took a swig from the flask– without spilling a single drop.


	2. 02: Year-Round Absorbed Curiosity

**#02: Year-Round Absorbed Curiosity**

* * *

With an exhale of satisfaction, Merry handed off the flask. At this unique offering, Renko brimmed with a childlike curiosity.

– "Your turn."

The physicist raised it to her lips and drank as unhesitatingly as her partner. But, unlike her partner, at first contact the liquid burned her throat and triggered a painful cough.

– "Wow. Just like an oni, this is strong…"

She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and passed the drink back to its earlier owner.

– "Done already?"

– "No way. We're just taking turns, for fairness's sake."

They took turns in this manner, and quickly lost count of how many rounds had passed. It would be clear in time that the brew was mysterious in ways beyond its flavor; it almost seemed as if the container had no bottom– or else, whenever it was empty, it immediately refilled.

– "How curious…"

– "Hic… This stuff is amazing…!"

Merry had begun the night more wide awake than Renko. Now, the alcohol had appeared to cast a renewed spell of energy on the latter, while contrarily having a calming and drowsy effect on the former. In their exaggerated conditions, they had ultimately become more like themselves.

Despite all efforts to share the effects equally, with each gulp Renko's cheeks were reddening exponentially faster.

– "Oh my, I never pegged you for a bottle fairy."

– "A what?"

– "A party girl who can't stop drinking once she starts."

Renko laughed extravagantly, and waved her hand in casual dismissal of the charge.

– "Don't be ridiculous! I'm _not even drunk yet…!_ "

Her clearly drunken voice rang out loud enough to draw stares from the neighboring tables. Merry stifled a smirk as Renko carelessly tossed back her head over the top of her chair and stared into space.

– "I don't know, don't you think we've had enough?"

– "What a time for you to wanna set boundaries! Let's eat, drink, and be–"

Suddenly distracted, Renko gasped and pointed a shaking finger straight up to the ceiling.

– "Merry, look up there!"

Fairies are creatures whose simple brains are amused by small humor, and who forget information as soon as it leaves their frame of reference.

Alcohol sometimes has the interesting power to turn humans into creatures like fairies.


	3. 03: Broken Moon

**#03: Broken Moon**

* * *

The scene that had captured the physicist's attention was nothing more than the ordinary scene of the moon in the sky, as seen through the skylight on the roof of the tavern. She shoved back her chair to take a stand, and the rush of blood to her head immediately caused her to stumble.

– "Ooh… Something's off. I feel so weird."

– "That's no good. You're not gonna be sick in public, are you?"

– "Nah, nah…"

Renko steadied herself against the chair and gazed back up at the round skylight, while drawing in a deep breath of fresh air.

– "I feel light… like I could float away."

– "What a funny thing to say. I wonder where the border is that turns heavy drinking into light feelings."

– "Merry, did you know alcohol is actually really light?"

– "Hmm."

– "In terms of density. Oil floats on water 'cause it's less dense. Alcohol is so light, it even floats on oil."

– "That's chemistry, not physics. How would you know, Renko?"

– "I know everything, Merry."

The scientist swayed her head back and forth. The lamplights that hung around the bar blurred her vision even more than the drink had already done.

– "So Renko can pick up on chemistry now. Could she too become less dense?"

Merry mumbled jokes she may not have made while sober, while Renko ignored them. She was still preoccupied with the skylight above. Struggling to fix the scene before her hazy eyes, she squinted more closely at the moon.

– "Ehhhh? Wait, this is _really_ weird!"

– "What's the matter?"

– "I… I can't tell where we are…!"

Renko Usami, whose eyes had been gifted (or cursed) with the ability to discern the exact time by looking at the stars, and the exact location by looking at the moon, had suddenly been robbed (or freed) of her condition. The once clear and solid moon now seemed to lack a certain, indefinable defining trait.

Merry handled the revelation with quiet interest.

– "My, could it be… you're seeing a boundary? The meaning of a boundary, you know, is that it's neither here nor there…"

Renko couldn't process this explanation, and frantically grabbed her friend by her shoulders.

– "Damn it! The moon is–! This moon must be broken!"


	4. 04: Lunatic Eyes

_It's said that if a person loses one of their five senses, the rest of their senses are enhanced._

 _Then, a person who loses their "common sense" might end up being the luckiest of all._

* * *

 **#04: Lunatic Eyes ~ Invisible Full Moon**

* * *

– "Have you lost your power to **see**?"

– "I see _something_. It's there… but it isn't!"

– "I see."

– "Do you!?"

Of course, the first girl sensed the changes too. The process had been gradual, but they had realized it suddenly: the borders that defined their location were thinning. As a result, the entire scene around them seemed to be disappearing– or rather, the walls were fading, exposing a separate world behind.

In the world now before their eyes, the time of day still appeared to be evening, but they stood outdoors rather than in. Trunks with twisting foliage replaced the pillars of the building, holding up a dusky sky. Shadows passed over the branches as if something were moving behind them, causing the colors to continuously shift in unnatural hues: purple, black, red.

– "Anyway, are you saying this is… not a dream?"

An optical illusion can occur when wavelengths of light are manipulated to alter appearance, or when chemicals in the brain are manipulated to alter perception. However, the illusions that were appearing to the girls were more tangible than light, if less tangible than matter.

Renko considered the possibility that she had died and was seeing some sort of netherworld, but she immediately dismissed the thought, realizing she had never felt so alive. Unprecedented visions multiplied around her, and she didn't know where to look first.

– "There's no way this is a dream… Merry! Is this what you see every day?"

– "I guess? Pretty much…"

She was exaggerating considerably. A disturbance on this level would have made her unusually queasy, but the alcohol in her system counteracted it as much as it had caused it.

– "No wonder you sleep so much! I've got a headache already."

– "Maybe you should lie down."

– "Right, lie down… That's a downright lie. We gotta investigate!"

By this point, the pair had ceased paying attention to any other people around them– that is, if the others were even there anymore. The only shape that remained of the original tavern scene was that of the strange moon, now hanging unframed in the sky. It was visible, but unrecognizable, as if someone had taken the true moon and replaced it with an imitation.

– "You shouldn't stare at the moon so long. You'll go insane, you know."

– "Hah! Might be a little late for that…"

Immersed in the strange atmosphere, the girls felt themselves in two places at once. After all, the place where a gap can form is on the border of two worlds– for example, the two states of consciousness and unconsciousness.


	5. 05: Deaf to All but the Song

**#05: Deaf to All but the Song**

* * *

What was once the front corridor of the tavern was now a cobble road, carving a path through the thicket of trees, which for now had taken on the color of cherry trees in full bloom. It vaguely occurred to Merry that there was only one place she had seen cherry blossoms bloom out of season.

No end to the path was visible, as anything beyond a radius of a few meters blended seamlessly into the darkening night. They were only able to follow the path straight because, as they walked, strong vibrations of **sound** caused the ground beneath them to tremble, like the rumblings of a distant concert.

Renko heard the music clearly. Mindlessly she hummed along to the familiar tune.

– _"Sakura, sakura… strewn across the sky of spring…"_

– "That song…"

She continued, raising her volume as the tempo became unexpectedly more aggressive.

– _"As far as the eye can see, but you can't see a thing!_ _"_

– "Wait, what?"

– _"Welcome to my darkness… now I've got you listening…_

 _Once the world is silent, you can hear my shadow sing!_ _"_

Having grown more sensitive to offensive noises, a frustrated Merry clasped her hands over her ears.

– "Ugh! What on earth are those ridiculous lyrics?"

– "I didn't make 'em up! I'm just singing along."

– "Even if you just repeat words, it's the same as saying them yourself. Don't sound so angry… or so delusional."

– "Pfft! Look who's talkin'!"

Before they could reach the source of the music, the vibrations slowly faded, and the horizon before them grew slightly clearer.

– "Is it over?"

– "Guess this band isn't very popular."

Merry felt exhausted after hearing the song, as if it had taken a psychical toll on her, and she had to lean against a tree for support before continuing on. Renko, however, felt it a shame for the recital to end.

– _"Sa-ku-ra!"_

She forcefully pumped her fist and shouted into the distance– and the word seemed to echo back, completing the line. The other girl blinked in surprise.

– "What was that?"

– "You try!"

Merry steadied herself against the trunk and took a deep breath.

– _"Sa-ku-ra…"_

Another echo resounded.

– "Huh! Who's that voice that answered just now?"

– "Oi, oi… Isn't it a problem when you can't even recognize yourself?"


	6. 06: Strawberry Crisis

**#06: Strawberry Crisis**

* * *

Parched from her performance, Renko licked her lips– and realized that the **taste** of the alcohol still lingered, but changed from before. A unique aftertaste was setting in, fruity and sweet.

– "This stuff was so bitter before. How'd it get so sweet?"

She was reminded of someone or something. Mingling with the taste, a name was on the tip of her tongue; but nothing from the original world seemed to exist at the moment, so she couldn't manage to utter it.

– "Bitter, or sweet… You can't have one without the other. They come from the same root."

– "Mm, right… It's like, you know how we were talking about chemistry?"

– "Oh…? What about it?"

– "The reason I know so much is, you can't have chemistry without physics… The same kind of science explains everything. Even psychology is a science, so we can study dreams themselves."

– "…Oh. You're talking about the theory of everything."

– "Yeah. Unified Theory, all that jazz. Everything in the whooole universe boils down into one."

Much like the branches of science, the branches of the surrounding trees had appeared to condense. The current color of the ever-shifting flora was a bright berry-red, a color that somehow looked exactly as their tongues tasted. Surely the seasons weren't changing within the span of their walk, and so Merry wondered again about the dreamlike nature of their surroundings.

– "You'd say that even dreams fall under the Unified Theory?"

Eyeing the trees, the psychologist thought that another explanation could be synesthesia, a phenomenon by which the stimulation of one sense produces a neurological reaction in another. For instance, the sight of a thing or the sound of a name might produce a taste, or vice versa. This unified theory of the senses was interesting, but still felt inadequate.

– "Well! 'S possible, maybe, there's still some other force we haven't accounted for."

– "You think so?"

– "I dunno. I think a professor I had once said that."

– "Repeating words is the same as saying them… Oh dear, you're making me repeat myself."

– "I might wanna believe it. I mean, physicists worked so hard on that theory, so it'd really be troublesome, but…"

– "That's right. Even if it puts your career in a crisis, isn't it more fun this way in the end?"

– "Ah, Merry… It certainly is bittersweet…"


	7. 07: Youkai Back Shrine Road

**#07: Youkai Back Shrine Road**

* * *

– "Those were fairly lucid thoughts for someone so drunk."

– "Were they? Guess I need more…"

– "Hold on."

– "?"

With a nose as sharp as a beast's, Merry had picked up on the **scent** of something rustling in the thicket before it ever entered her sight. It was a familiar, pungent aroma.

– "I don't think we're alone here."

The girls backed into a safe hiding spot to observe, as a shadow was cast along the stone path. Its shape stretched forward, large and intimidating, but only as a matter of perspective. The impression it gave was humanoid, with two sharp horns protruding from its head.

Following the shadow to its source among the opposite trees, all that could be seen was a trail of long red hair, which swayed with the breeze to camouflage with the leaves.

– "Could that be…"

– "The one who gave you the saké? Nice!"

Renko eagerly raised an arm to call out, but Merry instinctively pulled her back.

– "Are you insane!?"

– "Already said I was!"

– "You'll risk your life for more of that drink?"

Renko closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. The fragrance alone was enough to re-intoxicate them both.

– "Ah, I can smell it from here. It smells… so bad…"

– "Bad… in the best way."

– "Right! What're we afraid of?"

Merry's grip on her friend's sleeve slowly loosened. The girl was cautious by instinct, but it occurred to her that she wasn't actually feeling any fear.

Next move uncalculated, the two humans rushed forward together toward the stranger.

– _"Fortune out, oni in!"_

The figure turned sharply– and a pair of grinning, glassy eyes shone out, startling the pair who had meant to startle. From behind the brightly-colored mane, a large, smooth tail emerged into view, looking as if it could bowl them both over in one swipe. The rest of the creature's body transfigured before their eyes, but there was no time to discern the new shape. As quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared into the forest, leaving only a single leaf to float down and mark its place.

– "We were tricked! What a shame!"

Even through disappointed words, the maidens' thrilled hearts held no room for disappointment. They stumbled over each other in their giddy confusion, barely trying to regain their bearings.

– "Tha… that was no oni. Was it one o' those shapeshifting foxes?"

– "No way! It must have been a tanuki!"

– "How d'you tell the difference?"

– "That's obvious! There're eight classic signs to spot a tanuki."

Merry began rattling off several of these, as easily as if she were reading off a script: a guarding hat, a single furry tail, a dazzling smile… and, naturally, a bottle of saké in hand.

– "Lucky she didn't hear you make that mistake. Tanuki… simply _hate_ foxes, don't you know?"

– "Ahh. Izzat so?"

– "I mean, I don't really see why. I think a fox would make… a lovely… friend…"

For no reason whatsoever, Merry cut herself short and burst into a fit of laughter.

– "…!?"

The laughter was contagious and, in equal ignorant bliss, Renko soon began laughing together with her, almost to the point of tears.

To any passersby, their dazzling smiles may have easily let them pass for tanuki.


	8. 08: The Witches' Ball

**#08: Witches' Ball**

* * *

– "Welp, I'm completely convinced."

– "Of what?"

– "C'mon! Dance with me, Merry!"

– "Ah–?"

Renko seized Merry by the hand and pulled her abruptly into a waltz position, locking the other hand above her waist. At the sudden **touch** , a spark ran through her body.

The psychologist (taller but lighter) and the physicist (shorter but more dense) certainly made a unique pair of dance partners. Merry grinned, and effortlessly let the other girl carry her for a few steps in an unknown direction. At some point, the path beneath their feet had widened enough for them to move with no inhibitions.

– "What we're seeing right now is magic. There's no other word for it, right?"

– "Magic… Yes, that's right!"

A spread of stars formed a ballroom roof above their heads. Subconsciously matching her partner's rhythm, Merry twirled beneath Renko's outstretched arm. She made one, two, three complete revolutions. The dizziness from the spin enhanced the dizziness from the alcohol, and her head felt lighter than ever.

– "Ahaha! I knew it, Merry! We're magicians, we've always been!"

Matter typically becomes less dense when heated, as the particles move faster and reach farther. As her partner spun back into position against her chest, the heat of the closeness made Renko feel lighter as well. The density that kept her contained within her own reality had been manipulated to a point of complete freedom.

Of course, this process could be more simply and accurately explained as "magic."

The stars shifted to cast a spotlight on the pair of dancers, as the surrounding phantasmagoria of images blurred further together with each spin.

– "This is the world we created!"

– "This is the world we discovered!"

Their celebratory cries rang out, both true at once. They danced until they felt their feet lift off the ground, and then kept dancing still.


	9. 09: Tomorrow will be Special

**#09: Tomorrow will be Special, Yesterday was Not**

* * *

– "Ugh… Merry…"

– "Mm…?"

– "What the hell happened last night?"

The following morning, the girls rose from a sleep to a disordered dorm. The walls were solid, and the atmosphere average. The hardwood door was slightly ajar, and various student voices slipped through the gap in the frame.

– "It isn't much of a mystery. We obviously got drunk and passed out."

There is a certain beauty in living in the moment, even a moment that will soon be forgotten. The ancient Japanese aesthetic of transience echoes even through the modern era. Thus, the transient experience of the two girls had passed without record.

Even so, something was troubling Merry that she couldn't quite place her finger on.

– "You've got a funny look on your face."

– "Yeah. That dream last night was the strangest I've had yet."

– "What dream?"

– "Hmph. Weren't you the one who said that telling people about your dreams is just a bother?"

– "I was joking, of course. Jeez, Merry, don't you know me at all?"

Merry sat up straight, ready to explain her dream from the beginning… but suddenly, she realized that her mind was blank.

– "Actually, I can't remember."

Renko let out a loud sigh of disappointment.

– "Oh, Merry. When will our incompetent club have an adventure worth telling?"

– "I don't know. Maybe tomorrow?"


End file.
